Tim Paine: Australia Test captain resigns from historical investigation into texts sent to colleagues
Tim Paine resigned as Australia Test captain shortly before Ashes due to a historical investigation into messages sent to a female colleague.
Paine, 36, tearful, said he texted a colleague at Cricket Tasmania in 2017 that led to an investigation into misconduct.
He said he had been “exonerated”, but was resigning because he was made aware his texts had been publicly disclosed.
The first ash test between Australia and the UK begins on December 8.
Cricket Australia (CA) said it had accepted Paine’s resignation and would appoint a new captain, but the ping-pong player would stay on against England.
Fast bowler Pat Cummins, the current vice-captain, is widely expected to take over as captain.
Tasmania’s Paine was named captain in 2018 following Steve Smith’s ban a ball tampering scandal.
Paine revealed the historic investigation during a press conference on Friday, describing his resignation as “an extremely difficult decision but the right one for me, my family and my cricket”.
He said: “Despite being vindicated, I deeply regret this incident at the time and still do to this day.
“I spoke to my wife and family at the time and am extremely grateful for their forgiveness and support.
“By reflection, my actions in 2017 did not meet the standards of an Australian cricket captain, or the wider community.”
Paine did not disclose the nature of the texts, but the CA news website called it a “sexual texting incident involving a former Tasmanian Cricket employee in 2017”.
Paine added: “At the time, the exchange was the subject of a thorough investigation into the CA Integrity Unit, in which I fully and openly participated.
“That investigation and the concurrent Tasmanian Cricket personnel investigation found no breach of Cricket Australia’s code of conduct.”
CA President Richard Freudenstein acknowledged Paine had been cleared of any violations but added that the organization “does not tolerate this kind of language or behaviour”.
After taking over the banned Smith in March 2018, Paine said Australia must improve their ‘behaviour’ and promised to promote a “new culture”.
The ball tampering scandal led to a review into Australian cricket, which was launched in October 2018 and condemned the “win without cost” culture, while arguing that CA has a responsibility part.
Cricket Tasmania said its former employee did not bring charges against Paine until mid-2018 when she was charged with theft.
Andrew Gaggin, president of Cricket Tasmania, said in a statement that the investigation had found Paine’s “interactions” with the woman were “consensual, private, occurring on a single occasion, being between adults and should not be repeated”.
He added that Cricket Tasmania “clearly does not tolerate this type of behavior” but determined that “no further action is necessary or appropriate” because of the “unanimous” nature of the texts.
He added that criminal charges against the former employee were still pending and could not be commented further.
Paine, who scored a 9 out of 50 in 35 Tests, had neck surgery in September, but had previously said he was confident he would be a good fit for Ashes.
Smith was banned by CA for a year in 2018 for his part in the ball tampering scandal – during his third test match against South Africa in March of that year, and for trying to cover up the fact that Cameron Bancroft used sandpaper on the ball.
The hitter was also banned from captaining Australia for at least two years at the time.
In March 2020, Paine said he would “fully support” Smith if he back to the captaincy.
Under the leadership of captain Paine, Australia kept the Ashes in 2019 with a 2-2 draw, becoming the first Australian team to do so in England since 2001.
However, they were also beaten at home by India in both 2018-19 and earlier this year, with the ensuing series being Australia’s first test loss to Gabba in Brisbane since 1988.
Paine also apologized for his behavior in the third Test drawn against India in Sydney in January, after skidding Ravichandran Ashwin and being fined 15% of the competition fee for expressing dissent and cursing at referee Paul Wilson .
The 2021-22 Ashes start in Brisbane, ahead of matches in Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Perth.
